


undercover lover, babe

by FeyresUnbecoming



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternative Universe - FBI, Eventual Smut, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:54:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26006815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeyresUnbecoming/pseuds/FeyresUnbecoming
Summary: Caroline had thought the hard part would be infiltrating the Mikaelson crime family. She never imagined that the hardest part would be leaving it.
Relationships: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson
Comments: 44
Kudos: 130





	1. let's get acquainted

**Author's Note:**

> the work title and chapter title are both from Lana Del Rey's summer bummer

Special Agent Caroline Elizabeth Forbes was exceptionally lucky. Only 25, only having been working for the FBI for two years, and being trusted to infiltrate the infamous crime family, the Mikaelsons. Their power reached all across the United States, and into other countries. They kept a home base in Chicago, Caroline’s new home for who knew how long. 

If not for having spent most of her life in Virginia, this opportunity would have never been given to her. The Mikaelsons did not let anyone into their family or operations. If they did however, who better than Caroline Forbes? A girl from a small town in Virginia who attended Whitmore for a bachelor's degree and moved to Richmond. As far as anyone outside the FBI knew, Caroline had been working part time in retail, living on the small trust fund courtesy of her father's demise, and taking care of her ill mother with brain cancer. Everyone knew she was devastated by the loss of her mother and didn’t think much of her not returning home after the funeral was over and arrangements were taken care of. They had assumed she was at her apartment mourning, not throwing herself into her work at Quantico. 

Caroline did eventually reach out to her old friends, Elena, Bonnie, and Matt. The three of them came to her apartment in Virginia and helped her pack up all her things, ready to help her move onto a bigger city in Chicago. 

Now standing in her new box-filled apartment, the nerves hit her. This family was… They did not take kindly to liars. And they were merciless to the people who betrayed them. Which is exactly what Caroline was setting out to do. No training could prepare her for the lion’s den she would soon waltz into. 

* * *

The plan was clear. She was to apply legitimately to a few places not too far from her apartment. A few cafes, restaurants, a boutique or two, and some bars. More specifically, Gloria’s, a Mikaelson owned bar, the most frequently visited by the aforementioned family. Hoping her few jobs she held onto throughout her college years, her impressive high school extracurriculars, and all the community events Caroline has participated in or ran from a very young age would work out in her favor. 

Until then, Caroline was to explore Chicago as she wished. She shopped to further furnish her apartment, add small personal flourishes, and bought clothes much needed to update her wardrobe. Nothing involving the case was in her possession, anything she wanted to know, had to be memorized. Her partner Enzo was in charge of checking on her in some way; thankfully there was a plausible way for them to have met outside of their shared agent status. He had participated in an organization called Augustine at Whitmore, had despised one of her most hated professors, Doctor Wes Maxfield. That man had had some _serious_ issues. 

It had taken Gloria’s manager a full two weeks to contact Caroline for a follow-up interview. From there it had taken another four weeks to inform her of her newfound employment. She had already accepted an opening as a hostess at a random restaurant to have a more reasonable income. She had zero access to her saved up funds from the past two years, which was honestly a pity because Caroline refused to spend her trust fund without good reason, even if it would all be reimbursed for the necessities. Knowing she was to start working next Friday night, Caroline took some deep breaths to prepare herself for the oncoming storm.

* * *

Gloria’s was a nice looking bar, dimly lit, with a mix between old and new. The bar had been open for over a hundred years yet still maintained a new air about it. Caroline had her first drink at a pretty young age, and she definitely had a bit too much at more than a few parties trying to get her mom’s attention. None of it had worked, but it had helped her develop a knack for making certain drinks. She sure as hell hadn’t ingested beer past her first sip. Even her awful teenage sense of self worth knew she deserved to drink something better than _beer._

Caroline had been working so hard she almost missed the shift in the air when two people walked in. She assumed they were members of the Mikaelson’s given the reaction, Caroline had not looked at the pictures attached to the files before she left. Not wanting recognition she shouldn’t have give her away before the assignment even began. 

Her eyes scanned the room before landing on the pair: a straight-haired blonde around her age, maybe an inch or two shorter, and a man with curly dirty blonde hair, a couple of years older than Caroline and a little bit taller. The man was attractive even with the menacing air that radiated from him. If she had to guess, that one was Niklaus Mikaelson, the newly appointed leader of the family, having only taken over a few years earlier. Rumors said he killed his father for the power he held. The girl's identity was pretty easy to infer, the only daughter of Mikael and Esther, Rebekah. Her eyes were haughty and screamed superiority. 

The two approached the bar, Caroline continued going to the people who had arrived first, quickly pouring their drinks and writing down the few orders of food. When she walked up to a fourth person she turned at a high pitched squawk of disbelief. 

“Can you believe her, Nik?!” Rebekah sounded incredulous. 

Immediately turning away and going back to her work, Rebekah’s cries of outrage only got louder. 

Knowing it was a bad idea Caroline sighed and turned to her with a fake tone of sympathy and a real tone of condescension. “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but if you don’t stop making a disturbance, I’ll have to ask security to escort you out.”

About to tear into this idiot bartender, Rebekah stopped short at the laughs coming from her left. “Nik! Are you laughing at me?!” 

Barely muffling his laughs he didn’t even turn to his sister instead focusing on the beautiful blonde in front of them. “Patience is a virtue, Bekah. Maybe you should learn it.” Now directing his words he spoke to the girl across from him, “Hello, love. I’m Klaus.”

Caroline watched him suspiciously as she held out a hand for him to shake, only for her knuckles to be brought to his lips. She was not proud at her inability to hide her body’s reaction. Locking her muscles she stopped the shudder half-way through, though it did not escape Klaus’ notice if his smirk was any indication. With reluctance she replied, “Caroline.” Looking between the two she told them, “I’ll get to you after I serve people who got here before you.”

Rebekah looked ready to bite Caroline’s head off when Klaus put his hand on her shoulder silencing her, “Of course. We’ll see you then.”

With one last look of confusion Caroline got the remaining people their drinks and returned to Klaus, who now sat alone. 

Giving a polite customer service smile, “Hi, what can I get you to drink?”

“I’d like bourbon neat. Whatever you have that’s the most expensive.”

Caroline failed to bite back a snort as she reached for a glass. Klaus smiled, “Anything particularly funny, sweetheart?”

Biting her lip in a bad attempt to hide her smile Caroline quickly denied it with a popped, “Nope! Nothing at all. Here’s your drink. Are you paying now or do you want it on your tab?”

Klaus’ eyes narrowed in suspicion, “How do you know if I have a tab? You’ve never seen me before.”

Laughing at his paranoia (though she _is_ an agent so is it really him being paranoid if he’s right?), “While that is true, given how everyone was looking at you when you walked in, the accent, and a bratty blonde, it wasn’t that hard to figure out who you were. I was basically given explicit instructions by my manager not to piss you off under any circumstances.”

Raising his eyebrows, “More than just a pretty face. And you thought it best to not get our drinks as soon as we arrived?”

A sly smile took shape on her face. “Best? No. Amusing? Yes.” 

Klaus found himself smiling at the girl and her light laugh, “Tell me about yourself.”

“No,” she snorted. It was a knee-jerk reaction, knowing who he was. She had no desire to get close to him. Caroline found her brain running through every awful thing he had ever done on repeat, trying to remind her why those dimples were _not_ to be trusted.

Smile still plastered Klaus spoke before finding a table, “I’ll take that as a challenge, Caroline.”

The way his voice rolled out her name had her biting the inside of her cheek. She was _so_ in over her head.


	2. war in my mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Lana Del Rey's Get Free

As the weeks had passed by her and Klaus had grown closer. Instead of pretending to slowly feel more comfortable around him, she started  _ actually  _ feeling comfortable around him. But Klaus noticed how she would be relaxed with him one moment, then pulling away the next. 

Klaus started showing up every night Caroline was working at Gloria’s after their first meeting. While this was good for the case, it was not good for her sanity. He had an uncanny ability to crawl beneath her skin, carving out a place for himself there. 

The balancing act Caroline had to pull off was delicate. Or at least it should have been. She was meant to guarantee Klaus’s interest in her, not batting her eyelashes at his every word, but not completely shutting him down. While this should have been difficult, it wasn't. Caroline was almost thankful she didn’t have to hide her turmoil of emotions. This man had committed atrocities, everything in her should be repulsed. But when he saw her and walked straight to her, she couldn’t stop the hitch in her breath. Klaus listened to her, even when she rambled or spoke of inconsequential things, like she was the only person in the room. War raged between her head and heart as her interest in Klaus was no longer feigned.

It was a few weeks of her working when Klaus appeared behind the bar, the room empty save the two of them. The clock read about two in the afternoon, so it was not a normal day of the week or time that he was there. 

“Hello, love.”

The voice startled her into dropping the glass she had been drying. “Motherfucker.” Caroline’s eyes widened when she realized she muttered that aloud. Her face heated as Klaus chuckled. Huffing, Caroline spoke again before he used the opportunity to tease her, “Is there any particular reason why you’re standing behind the bar with me? I know you basically own the place, but it’s employees only.”

“I merely wanted to enjoy your company.” At her snort Klaus rose a brow, “Is that so hard to believe?”

Looking him up and down from the corner of her eye, “Yes. It is. And even if that is true, you can enjoy my company from the customer side of the bar.”  _ Where I can’t feel your breath on my neck, _ she added silently.

Klaus made a noncommittal noise, “Perhaps.” He approached Caroline’s back to speak in her ear, “Go out with me.” He had danced around it, but had never made the move to actually take her out.

Biting back a shudder at the vibrations against her ear, she steeled her spine, “That wasn’t a question.”

“Should it have been?”

“Well, traditionally when one asks another out they, you know, actually  _ ask _ .”

“Hmm. I suppose. So I’ll pick you up at eight?” His smirk unsettled her as she turned, avoiding the glass by her feet.

“I never said yes.”

“You did point out that I never asked.”

“Despite the rumors, Klaus, I think it would be below you to force a girl into going out with you.” Caroline pressed back into the sink, trying to lean further away only for Klaus to lean in closer to her.

“And what rumors would those be, love?” His smirk remained, he thought she didn’t know.

“Klaus.” It was a half hearted warning at best.

“Caroline.” The mocking tone is what made her decision. 

“Klaus, I know who you are,” seeing his interruption before he began she spoke louder. “I know what you do.”

Klaus’s smile fell instantly and he pressed closer to her than comfortable, the flirty tone vanished. “Who told you?”

“No one told me. Not explicitly. It wasn’t hard to put together. You’re invested in businesses all around the city, probably the country too, if I had to guess. Everyone is scared of you. It’s common knowledge that Chicago is fighting the mob. Your power and status don’t exactly hide it. People talk. Just because the police can’t prove it doesn’t make it any less true.” Caroline tensed in fear, readying for a fight. Now would reveal if she was a passing fascination or someone Klaus genuinely wanted to pursue. If it was the latter, the mission would become the closest they’ve gotten to the Mikaelsons. But if it was the former, who knew if she could make it out alive.

Klaus knuckles turned white with the force he was exerting on them, gripping the counter behind Caroline. His body temperature felt like it had spiked with his anger.

Her voice shook against her will, “Are you going to kill me?”

Looking at her as if she was the one pressing him against the sink, as if she was the threat, “Do you really think that low of me?” His hand pushed a lock of hair behind her ear with a gentle caress that only unsettled her further.

She swallowed. “Yes.”

With an expression of hurt, “I don’t want to hurt you, Caroline.”

Watery tears to match her watery smile appeared. “But you will.” She gave a loose shrug as a droplet fell. “If I get in your way, or if you think I know too much. I know what you’ll do. I’ll be dead in an alley in twenty minutes at your say so. Or by your own hands if you’re inclined.” The smile broke alongside her voice, “I’m just collateral damage to you, Klaus. Nothing more. So don’t pretend I am.”

Klaus wore an expression of shock as Caroline put her hands to his shoulders and maneuvered herself out from his hold without resistance. Glancing at the time she turned to his face and brushed her fingertips across his right cheek. She leaned in with a sad smile and pressed a short kiss to the opposite side. “Bye, Klaus.”

He watched her walk to the back to gather her things, leaving Klaus in a state of disbelief. Nothing she said had been wrong. He’d never flinched at getting rid of collateral damage before, so why did he do so now?

* * *

“Gorgeous!” His voice was  _ way  _ too enthusiastic given the early hour.

“Professional etiquette much, Enzo?”

“Well, I’ve never been one for pleasantries. How’s the move been? Any problems?”

Now, Caroline knew she couldn’t just talk to Enzo freely like she wanted to. If she could, she’d tell him the horrible news. But this wasn’t Caroline talking to her best friend and partner, it was her report back to Quantico. Sighing she began quietly into the phone, “Yeah, you could say I’m having some problems.” The humorless laugh did nothing to loosen the tension Enzo felt at her words.

“Anything I can do to help?” His tone lost all playfulness and Caroline already regretted telling him things were not going smoothly.

“I’m not in actual trouble. I guess, I just—I didn’t think it’d be this hard? I don’t know, Enzo. It’s not that relevant I guess.” Anticipating the interruption she cut him off, “Next time I see you, I will tell you all about it. Promise.”

He scowled, even knowing Caroline couldn’t see his displeasure. “I’ll hold you to that.”

The first free laugh she’d had in a while fell out. “I wouldn’t expect any less. I’m still settling in, I’ll let you know when I get adjusted.” Not saying what was going on explicitly was still disorienting for her. “Bye, dork. Stay safe.”

“You too. I mean it.”

“I know. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.” Emotions came crashing back down on Caroline, her relief very short lived.

Her fingertips skimmed the dark brown box she had yet to open. That Klaus had great intel was something she already knew, but it felt different when he knew where she lived despite her never telling him. The pair hadn’t spoken in the few days since their talk, so discovering the package on her doorstep had been a surprise. “Now or never, I guess.” Reaching for the cream colored bow and pulling, her breath caught when she saw the gown inside. If the dress wasn’t designer, it was custom made. Gently, she pulled the blue dress out to hold against herself and look in a mirror. A note fluttered to the ground. After admiring the dress for a moment longer she folded it into the box again and picked the note up. A Mikaelson family ball. How dramatic. 

Flipping the card over she was met with hand printed words; ‘Save me a dance. Fondly, Klaus.’ With an aggravated sigh, Caroline flopped down onto her back, draping an arm across her eyes. Seriously? He hadn’t even mentioned this thing. If he had she would have bought her  _ own _ dress. Sure it wouldn’t have been as eloquent because she didn’t have excessive sums of money to throw around on a whim, but it sure as hell would have been tasteful. 

Klaus hadn’t tried to hurt Caroline since she told him she knew who he was. His identity wasn’t a secret, but the implication she gave of knowing  _ all _ of it, exactly how much he involves himself in, was a loose end. He doesn’t leave loose ends. So imagine her surprise when Klaus had strolled right back into Gloria’s a few days later acting like nothing had changed. 

When Caroline showed up to work the next day, first thing, she was handed a new schedule. And, shocker, she had the day of the ball off. It was going to be on Friday, it was currently Monday, so she’d most likely see Klaus before he would try and whisk her away.

Caroline was thinking Klaus had to know her reaction would not be the best, because he didn’t show up until Wednesday. Normally he’d be trying to steal all her time while she worked. When Klaus finally made an appearance again as she was wiping down the unoccupied tables, she realized with a jolt, “Oh, my god. You’re nervous.” 

“I’ve no idea what you mean, love.” While she hadn’t been expecting anything but denial she still rolled her eyes at it.

Her lips tilted into a taunting grin, so she spoke in a sing-song voice, “Somebody’s nervous. Who would have guessed the big bad could even feel such a trivial emotion?”

Klaus eyes locked with hers and grew serious, “I think you’d be surprised at what I’m capable of feeling, sweetheart.” 

Caroline’s mouth dropped and dried. Coming back into the moment she snapped it shut, “Um. Yeah. I guess I could be.” She wished her eyes tracing his mouth was voluntary. If this was a normal conversation, a normal person, she might have given into the temptation to trace his lips with her thumb and press his lips to hers. Fighting her urge to pout at the lack of contact she shook her head and spoke, “You know, you could have asked me to go with you like a normal person. As opposed to the creepy stalkery way of leaving a very expensive box sitting outside my apartment, basically begging everyone to rob me. Not to mention the fact I never told you where I lived. Now, while knowing you know is one thing, seeing you use your contacts to watch me is disturbing.”

“I assure you I wasn’t trying to violate your privacy. I thought leaving it inside might cross one of those pesky boundaries you have. And I can also assure you, no one will be robbing you. Not unless they’d like to try living after I’ve personally ripped out their liver.”

Looking around to ensure no one had entered, she quickly hit Klaus in the stomach. “You can’t just go threatening to rip out people's livers!”

He caught her hand before it pulled too far back from him, “I most certainly can.”

“I think the law begs to differ.”

“Then I suppose it’s rather convenient I don’t bother with such trivial things.” 

Biting back a growl Caroline narrowed her eyes in a glare. Snatching back her hand, “You can’t just completely disregard the law, Klaus. If cop shows have taught me anything, it’s that it’ll come back to bite you in the ass.” For someone who is known to be so cunning, you’d think Klaus would have caught notice of the uncomfortable shift she made with her words.

As Klaus made a disinterested noise Caroline found herself fighting the urge to bang her head against the countertop for several reasons. One being that she (an agent) basically just told a notorious criminal the law was going to get him. 

With a roll of her eyes Caroline changed the subject, “Anyways, I assume I have you to thank for this new schedule?”

The nervous glint made another appearance behind Klaus’s eyes, “That depends on how you would feel about that.”

“Mildly annoyed at most with the schedule change. Normally it’d be more, I like a tight schedule, but I’m still setting in. With the creepy stalker move though…That definitely makes me uncomfortable.”

At her admittance to not being completely repulsed by his invitation itself (mainly disturbed with its delivery), “So,” Klaus spoke tentatively, “Does that mean you accept?”

For a split second Klaus thought she was going to say no, “I guess I  _ could _ be convinced to go. With the right motivation.”

“It will have an open bar.”

“Alcohol. You sure know how to steal a girl's heart.” Watching the grin consume Klaus’s face, Caroline continued, “I will meet you there. You will  _ not _ pick me up. And just so we are crystal clear—this is  _ not  _ a date.”

Klaus’s grin turned smug as he walked backward toward the door, his hands going to his pockets, “Whatever you say, sweetheart.”


	3. ballroom of my mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from Lana Del Rey's 13 beaches

Nerves ate at her skin. Caroline had arrived at the Mikaelson mansion, and it was  _ huge.  _ Sure, she had seen pictures, but opulence radiated from it. Shaking her offhanded thought about if the neighbors knew what family they lived next to, she began a trek up to the house.

The interior was just as grand as the outside, breathtaking—or at least it would be if it wasn’t built on blood.

Klaus spotted her as she walked in, and he couldn’t look away. When they met in the middle Caroline gave a tight smile. “I need a drink. You mentioned an open bar?”

“I’ll lead the way, love.” His hand came to rest on the small of her back, guiding her through the crowd. Caroline found herself blinking at a goofy smile plastered onto his face. “I’m glad you came.” Klaus grabbed her a tall glass of champagne from a passing server.

With a tilted head, suspicion lacing her tone, she responded, “Uh, yeah. I said I would.” When the goofy smile remained she failed to bite back a laugh. “What?”

“Nothing.” Klaus held his arm out to her. “Dance with me.”

She took the offered glass. “You’re not very fond of questions are you?”

“I have always been a bit more prone to giving orders, but I wouldn’t say that. There’re plenty of questions I’d like to ask you.”

Caroline sipped at her drink and bit her lip (and she definitely did _ not _ notice him staring). “A question for a question? I’ll even be nice and let you start.” 

“A privilege very few receive, I assume.” He led her out to the dance floor, taking the barely touched drink and handing it off to a server. Surprisingly, Caroline let him. “What’s your favorite color?”

She sputtered, “I gave you free range to ask basically anything, and you ask me about my favorite  _ color _ ?” At his raised brows she huffed a laugh, “It’s green. A pale green, not a dark.”

Slipping into a waltz Caroline placed her hand into his and followed his steps effortlessly. Klaus settled his palm on her waist pulling her closer. “What was it like growing up how you did?”

For a moment she thought Klaus wouldn’t answer. “It was relatively normal. None of us knew at first, but once we were old enough… I don’t believe much would have changed had it been different.”

“Would you change it if you could though?”

There was hesitance in his answer, “I’m not sure. And it wasn’t your turn, sweetheart.” Klaus laughed at the playful roll of her eyes before asking, “So your mother was a sheriff?”

“I don’t see why you’re acting like you don’t already know the answer to that. I already know about your creeper tendencies.”

“I prefer the term precautious.”

Grinning, Caroline teased him, “I’m sure you do.”

“Was it hard growing up with a parent in law enforcement?”

“Well you see, Klaus, not everyone starts crime from a young age, so we don’t really have to worry about having a cop for a mom.” She gave a real answer at the raise of his eyebrows. “I was pretty lonely growing up. I had lots of friends, sure. But my mom was rarely home. When she was home she would be mentally absent. I found any excuse to be out of the house. My list of extracurriculars could put your rap sheet to shame.”

The smile never left his face after he laughed. “A rap sheet implies I’ve been caught before, love. But if I were to have one I’m sure it would be a formidable rival. What were some of the things on that list? Oh, yes. Miss Mystic Falls, was it?”

The accusation flew out of her mouth but was said with a smile, “Stalker!”

Klaus only shrugged, laughing at her following scoff. His voice gentled, lost the tease to it, “I couldn’t find much on your father.”

Caroline’s smile fell with his words. “I—um. Yeah. He wasn’t really in my life much after middle school. He left my mom and I, got a new husband for himself, and a step daughter to match. He was barely home when we were still a family, but that felt like a nail in the coffin to a non-resentful father-daughter relationship. It took years for me to be able to talk to him without yelling or being bitchy. He died my senior year of high school. Stage four pancreatic cancer. It was too late by the time they found it. We had only started talking on a regular basis a few months before he finally went to the doctor.”

Pulling her closer than propriety allowed he whispered to her temple before dropping a soft kiss. “I’m sorry.”

Letting her head fall to rest on his chest, she moved her arms to wrap around his neck, the music no longer calling for a proper waltz. “Yeah, me too.” Klaus waited for her to breach the silence, letting her set the pace. “So you have what? Three, four siblings?”

Happy she decided to keep talking to him, he almost rested his cheek on the top of her head before catching himself. “I had five. The youngest died a while back. Henrik.” Klaus had only planned to speak of his living siblings, but found himself unable to stop the pour of words from his mouth. “He wanted ice cream one day, we weren’t meant to leave the house but I never could say no to him. Two of our fathers' business associates came out and attacked us. I was old enough to fight them off, but Henrik was only a child, they stabbed him and ran. By the time we made it to the hospital he had lost too much blood.”

“It wasn’t your fault. I’m sure you think it was, but it wasn’t. You were being a nice big brother, you shouldn’t shoulder the guilt someone else should be carrying.” Caroline lifted her head to cup his jaw and meet his eyes, letting him see she meant it. When his eyes remained hollow she switched subjects, “So was it hard living with so many people? I only lived with two other people at most and even then they were never home much.”

“I found many creative threats, that’s certain.”

Trying to get a spark in his eye again, “I don’t know, Klaus,” a tiny smirk formed. “I came up with plenty of creative threats of my own and I didn’t need a giant family to inspire it.”

It wasn’t quite as bright as before, but it came back. “And I’m sure you followed through on all of these supposed threats, sweetheart.”

“I did. I don’t make idle threats. You see, when I threatened to kill or cause severe bodily harm, people could call my bluff. So I personalized them and made them things I couldn’t get in any real trouble for. I’d threaten to chop all of my friend Elena’s hair off.” Caroline elaborated at the quizzical look Klaus gave. “Hey! If you knew the girl, you’d know she’d rather I  _ actually _ kill her than cut her hair.”

“That sounds just like my sister Rebekah.”

“Your sister would chew and spit Elena out faster than a piece of gum.”

“Well, Bekah has that effect on many people.”

“I have no doubt. My friend Matt’s go-to threat was roping him into whatever event I was running or organizing. It was relatively easy work but it was pure hell for the guy. Now, my friend Bonnie’s was probably the hardest. Eventually I came across some dirt. Matt and her made out on a dare beginning of sophomore year, just before him and Elena dated. Bonnie and Matt never disclosed this information. Now, I fully acknowledge a kiss isn’t that big a deal, Elena and Matt weren’t even dating yet. But Bonnie knew Elena liked him, and Elena has an  _ amazing  _ talent to blow things out of proportion, and still make you feel like you killed her puppy. Hell, she could do something to you and think she was the victim if you didn’t forgive her.”

“Sounds like you have some lovely friends.”

“I do. I know that was sarcastic, but we all really look out for one another. Elena can be selfish, but she’s the sweetest girl I’ve ever met. Her intentions are always the best. Matt can be obsessive but will always help you out, no matter what. Bonnie may be judgemental but has the most aggressive loyalty and protectiveness. She would die to save any of her friends. Oh! And my friend Enzo, I haven’t known him as long but he’s my best friend. His threat is that I’ll smash all of his expensive liquor that I can’t drink or carry.”

“I see, I may have more to learn yet. My threats may all be creative, but they all require violence.”

Her response was dry. “Yes, I think you’d be surprised what one can accomplish without causing bodily harm.”

The two fired questions back and forth for a few more dances veering off topic intermittently. 

During the end of one dance someone approached Klaus and whispered in his ear. His jaw clenched, his words bitten out, “I’m sorry, sweetheart. It appears something has come up; I’ll find you later.” He slipped away before she formulated a response.

Wandering the ballroom with so many people, not knowing who they were, what they did, raised the hairs on her neck. She grabbed her shawl and exited through a patio door.

Caroline thought half an hour or forty five minutes passed when Klaus found her outside by the horses. “Do you like horses?”

Caroline startled at his voice (not at all pleased she hadn’t heard him coming). “I do. I haven’t ridden one in a long time but I remember loving how free it made me feel.” Klaus came to stand closer to her so she moved forward to fight the urge to lean into his warmth.

Klaus surprised her with his next words. They came out with a blank sadness, “Horses are the opposite of people. Loyal. My father tried to kill me, and the closest he ever really got was the day he killed my favorite horse.”

That hadn’t been in the reports. Even though Klaus had spoken to her she felt like she was intruding on a private moment. Something not meant for her ears. Caroline’s voice was low and hushed, “He what?” 

Turning to face her Klaus put his hand to her cheek, gently moving his thumb across her cheekbone. “My siblings stopped him when we were younger. My mother a few times. He wouldn’t commit a murder with witnesses willing to testify there. As much as he hated me, he was too cowardly to kill us all. When I became old enough I avoided him to the best of my abilities.” His voice grew hollow. “I learned to do a lot of things. He only tried once when I was old enough to fight back.” He finally looked in Caroline’s eyes. “It didn’t end well for him.”

She closed her mouth, and tried to find it in herself to be disgusted with Klaus’s actions. But how could she? How old had Klaus been the first time his father had planned to kill him? Caroline focused her eyes back on his. “Good.” 

“Good?”

“Good. No child deserves that.” Her next words came out on their own accord. “My dad and I had a rough relationship, but at the end of the day he loved me. I can’t imagine growing up like that. I’m sorry you had to.” Klaus pressed his forehead to hers, startling back at the volume when she spoke again. “Wait a second. You said it was normal growing up! That’s not normal!”

Klaus chuckled at her. “I suppose it’s not, sweetheart. Come on, I want to show you something.”

Caroline joked trying to lighten the mood as he grabbed her hand and led her back inside, “Taking me to your torture dungeon?” After a moment she turned to him. “Wait, you don’t actually have a dungeon do you? Because I’m not gonna lie, that sounds kinda tacky. Not to mention outdated.”

After being pulled through multiple hallways, Caroline gave in. “Are we almost there yet?”

A small smile played on Klaus’s lips. “Patience is a virtue, Caroline.”

“You did  _ not  _ just say that to me. Your sister couldn’t wait for five minutes sitting in a bar. I’m wearing a floor length gown and heels. I think I’m entitled to a bit more leniency. You gave me no reason to believe I’d be following you around in this massive house. And normally I’d be fine walking in heels for a prolonged period of time, but you walk fast!”

“If you had stopped your rant you would’ve noticed we stopped walking, love.”

“Oh. Well, what’d you want to show me?”

Klaus opened the door to reveal a  _ very _ messy room that Caroline had to fight all instincts to lecture him. Shaking off the urge she looked around,  _ not _ focusing on the scattered papers and brushes and paints everywhere. Canvases covered the walls, a few framed but many not, varying in sizes and styles. The coffee table in front of the couch had sketchbooks, loose papers, and a half completed landscape. A desk by an easel had numerous tubes of paint (thankfully all closed), a trash can next to it with crumpled papers overflowing onto the floor, and a torn canvas.

Her feet took her closer, fingertips almost touching the art. “Wow. Klaus, these are gorgeous. Did you paint them?” He nodded a silent affirmative, as she continued to peruse the paintings on the wall. Stopping at one that seemed different she glanced to the bottom right hand corner and saw the lack of Klaus’s initials. “Where’d you steal this one from?”

“Why do you assume I stole it?” His look was curious.

“It doesn’t have your initials on it like the rest.”

He looked proud, of her or the theft of the painting she didn’t know. “The Louvre.”

Caroline took a moment to gather her thoughts. “Let me get this straight,” she slowed her speech, “you do  _ art theft _ ?” 

“I don’t know why you sound so surprised, love.”

“When someone thinks of a mob boss, they don’t exactly picture an art thief.”

“I don’t like to limit myself.” The shrug of his shoulders was almost comical to her. 

Thoughtlessly, she picked up a sketch book and started flipping through it. She froze when she was met with her own eyes, the curve where her shoulder meets her neck, flashes of her hair, and other features that were distinctively hers littered between the pages of her face. “You drew these?”

Klaus walked behind her to look, despite already knowing the answer. “Yes.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

“Because I wanted to, Caroline.” He circled her, coming face to face. “You’re strong, you’re beautiful, you’re full of light.” She shivered at the contact when he tucked a loose curl. He ducked to meet her eyes when she tried to look away, keeping a hand on her face. “What else could one possibly want in a muse?” 

_ His voice has no right being that gentle.  _ The thought was fleeting as Caroline lowered her lashes. When she gathered herself enough and looked back into her eyes Klaus was slowly moving toward her, giving her time to stop him. 

The kiss was soft, a display of affection and not passion. It coaxed away her hesitations, had her opening up to him. Klaus lightly nipped at her, and the contact wasn’t enough anymore. She reached her hands to place on his neck, pulling him closer and pressing herself along his body. 

Caroline stopped the kiss with a contented hum, leaving her face inches from his, and breathing in his scent. “The sketches are beautiful, Klaus.”

“The beauty is all yours, I just had a chance to try and capture it on paper.”

Her smile was wide and unrestrained, the attempt she made to muffle her oncoming giggle by putting her face against his shoulder useless. 

Klaus put his hand to the back of her head, mindful of the updo, and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper, “What’s so funny, love?”

She looked up, hands together covering her nose and part of her mouth, “That was really cheesy.” When her hands were equally useless in stopping the giggles she dropped them. A jolt shot through her, originating from her side. Caroline’s jaw dropped in fake offence when she realized Klaus had pinched her. 

“It was romantic.” The answering smile felt like it could have given off heat just like the sun it reminded him of.

“Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that, buddy.”

* * *

The morning after the ball pushed Caroline off of her high. Enzo was calling her sooner than he was meant to. Immediately sitting up and grabbing her phone she answered, “What is it? What happened?”

The grave tone of his voice churned her stomach. “A body was found last night. Jane-Anne Deveraux.”

“And?” The waver in her voice wasn’t because of a dead body. It was because of what she knew Enzo would say next.

“She was an informant. She was found shot, execution style. Time of death was around nine to nine-thirty. We don’t have the kill site, just the dumping grounds. Propped up in an alley, fingers broken premortem, her throat slit postmortem. They used her blood to write ‘We’re watching you’ on the wall.” Caroline squeezed her eyes shut preparing for the next part. “We think Klaus killed her and had someone else dispose of the body.”

Through sheer will power alone, Caroline held her voice steady, “Why do we think it’s Klaus?”

“The woman's forehead had a carving in it. A sun and moon with a double set of fangs.”

Caroline thought back to the way Klaus had held her hand and cradled her head the night before. He had freshly washed blood on his hands while he touched her. She bit back a dry sob and whispered, “He killed her last night?” It was one thing to know he’s a killer, another thing altogether when he had killed a woman without blinking an eye, going right back to the party, going right back to her. 

Knowing it would be useless Enzo tried anyway, “You can always back out of the case, gorgeous. No one would judge you.”

Her voice was stone, “No. I won’t back out of it. And I would judge me. I wanna put these bastards behind bars. I want to put  _ Klaus _ behind bars.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can thank my beta reader for like an extra thousand words, she called me out when I tried to avoid writing almost the entirety of the part where Klaus and Caroline ask each other questions. you can also thank my beta reader for the threat to cut Elena's hair, she has threatened to do that to me many times over several years. also the carving in Jane-Anne's forehead is the symbol that means hybrid from the caves in the show if that didn't click. And thank you to everyone who has been leaving comments and kudos, they've really helped make some of my days when I've been feeling shitty.


	4. couldn't care less

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title from Lana del Rey's "Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have"

Caroline was at home painting her nails, scowling. 

On the bright side of Jane-Anne being killed, it gave Caroline a well needed reality check. It was easy to forget someone was a killer when they gave you dimpled smiles, and witty remarks. It made them human.

Humanizing your target, seeing them as a person, is a mistake. A mistake they won’t have the same courtesy to make. It’ll get you killed.

On the downside however, they were now short an informant, and had no way of knowing for sure who the message had been for. Which left Caroline on edge. 

Klaus wasn’t ignorant — arrogant, sure, but not ignorant. There was a good chance he knew about her. But if that was the case why go back to her after killing Jane-Anne? What would be the point? Was he just playing with his prey before he went for the final blow? It wouldn’t be very hard to kill her. She had some security measures but nothing that could stop him.

If Klaus did figure her out he hasn’t noticeably changed his behavior. If not for the rage boiling her blood she would have found his confused face funny when she sniped and clipped her words toward him. He still kept showing up wherever she was and tried to bait her into talking to him. And so what if she was mad he killed someone during their non-date? Caroline agreed to one semi-kinda-maybe-not-date, so he should at least have the courtesy of not _ killing  _ someone during it. Honestly, it was rude. He knew Caroline was mad at him for something after he took her home from the ball. The likelihood that he knew why however was slim. 

The local police had hidden the circumstances of the murder. No mention of Klaus’s signature, no mention of the writing on the wall, or the torture. Though Caroline couldn’t figure out  _ why _ it had been covered up. She doubted it was to keep the public calm, no one really blinked at these types of crimes knowing that they were safe as long as they minded their own business.

When Klaus kept showing up wherever she was she stopped leaving her apartment for a bit. She knew she shouldn’t have but Caroline was  _ pissed.  _ She even went as far as to call off work sick, something she  _ never _ did. For a minute she felt guilty about it when Klaus had texted her saying he hoped she felt better. Then she remembered  _ why  _ she was pretending to be sick (and that she never actually  _ gave _ him her number). He killed someone during a date and didn’t even give her the courtesy of giving her some space to sort out her thoughts afterwards. 

A buzzing from her intercom snapped her out of her spiraling thoughts. On autopilot she got up and went to the door and answered, “Yeah?”

“Caroline, be a dear and let me up?” It sounded more like a threat than a request but she pressed the button to let Klaus in the building anyway.

Preparing for a fight Caroline crossed her arms, mindful of her nails because she had spent way too much time on them to be ruined by Klaus distracting her. When his footsteps became audible, which was probably intentional — he could be scarily quiet — she opened the door with a cold smile. 

“Klaus, what a surprise.” Her words came out gritted as opposed to the cool indifference she was trying for.

Making a small noncommittal hum he walked past Caroline and started looking around, playing with small trinkets, and looking at the photos she had up. “It shouldn’t come as that big a surprise, love. First you tried ignoring me. When you found yourself unable not to rise to my bait you tried to just avoid me, but I kept finding you. So you holed up.” He stopped talking to turn and make eye contact. His voice was accusatory, “I never took you for one to run from her problems. A pity I was wrong.”

Closing the door she answered, low and mocking, “Then it’s a good thing I didn’t run. I holed up.” At Klaus’s annoyed look, and the knowledge that he wouldn’t leave until there was screaming or some resolve, she continued. “I wanted some space, Klaus. You didn’t give it to me. You can’t fault my response to that.”

“Actually, love, you’ll find I can fault you just fine. And you didn’t seem to want much space between us the other night.”

Caroline’s voice came out high-pitched, “I—Did you just—?”

“I did.” The dry tone grated on her nerves. It made her snap.

“Are you actually kidding me right now? First of all it was  _ not  _ the other night, it was three  _ days _ ago.” 

Caroline ignored his snippy “semantics,” and talked over him.

“I cannot  _ believe _ what an asshole you’re being right now. God, Klaus. I know you aren’t stupid, but you sure as hell know how to act like it. How do I get it through your thick-ass skull that  _ I don’t want to talk to you. _ Honestly. Take a fucking hint, I’m mad at you and you forcing me to be around you isn’t going to fix that.”

“Well, maybe if you’d talk to me like an adult, I could fix it.” He addressed her like he was talking to a child, and his words implied he thought she was acting like one.

“Oh, my god.” Caroline closed her eyes and rubbed her temples in a vain attempt to relieve the tension there. Taking a deep breath she started talking again, much calmer this time. “Klaus. You cannot fix what made me mad at you. And I am under no obligation to tell you, just like I am under no obligation to deal with this  _ shit. _ ” 

Klaus saw her shutting down and surged forward to catch her face in his hands and make her look at him. Making his eyes as innocent as he could, he spoke in a plea. “Sweetheart. Please just tell me what I did wrong.” He lowered his forehead to hers and fought the twitch of satisfaction of her breath hitching. Opening his eyes, “Please, Caroline.”

Hating the crack in her resolve, Caroline felt herself deflate, but she still remembered to push Klaus away. “Klaus, what did you do when you ran off for a bit at the ball?” 

Frantically Klaus tried to process what she just asked. When it finally clicked he looked up confused and apologetic. “Caroline…”

“Did you or did you not kill someone during our date?”

The disappointment in her eyes burned at him in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. It burned so much he didn’t get an ounce of joy from her calling it a date. He gulped, searching for something to say to make her feel better, but instead of words of comfort or apologies, something else came out. “How do you know about that?” 

Shaking her head at him, her face twisted in disgust and anger. “Wow. That’s what you wanna say? That’s what you wanna ask me?” Caroline’s eyebrows shot up.

His expression was carefully blank.

A bitter huff of disbelief left her before she spoke. “At least you had the decency not to deny it.” She walked back to her door and opened it. When Klaus kept looking at her like she kicked his puppy she got bitchy. “That’s a dismissal if I’ve ever seen one.” Twisting her face into an intentional sneer she kept going. “Get the hell out, Klaus. I don’t wanna see you. Next time take the fucking hint and leave me  _ alone.” _

Wordlessly his mouth opened and closed. Eventually he walked to the door and turned before he completely left. “Caroline…” The emotion had come back into his voice. 

Not knowing if the guilt in his voice was from hurting her or if it was from  _ killing _ someone is what strengthened her resolve. “Don’t, Klaus. Just—don’t.” A flick of her wrist had the door closing as Klaus stepped back to let her lock him out.

Klaus was so distraught he never realized he didn’t know how Caroline found out.

* * *

The buzzing this time came while she was asleep. Disgruntled, she looked at her alarm clock to check the time and groaned. Who the hell was at her door at  _ 3:21 AM _ ? __ Shuffling out of bed, she pulled on her slippers and clung to her body to try and fight off the cold from leaving the warm covers.

Caroline bit out a mean, “ _ What?”  _ Only to freeze when she heard what sounded like a Klaus in tears say her name. Without thought she hit the button to let him in and raced down the stairs, never knowing how long the stupid elevator might take. She skid to a stop when she saw Klaus for the first time since she closed the door on him almost two weeks ago.

But seeing him isn’t what stopped her. What stopped her was the blood he was covered in. Blood she instinctively knew was his. 

Caroline slowly started to approach him again, only for him to stumble forward into her arms and let out a grunt of pain before he spoke. His words were strained and pained, “Caroline… Help me. Please.”

Knowing she couldn’t support him the entire walk up she led him to the elevator. Wrapping her arms around him she told him not to speak, kissed his head and promised he’d be alright. And she really hoped that wasn’t a promise she’d have to break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't die! I don't have an update schedule because I know who I am as a person and I would never actually post when I was supposed to. I've also had this chapter done for a while but I wanted to wait until I would have chapter five ready because this has more of a cliff hanger than the last chapter. I hope you like it!


	5. and i never cared more

One would think Caroline had been the one shot from her frantic reaction to dragging a bloody Klaus up to her apartment. Thankfully, whoever shot him had been decent enough to do so at an odd hour so no neighbors were wandering around to witness it. 

Throwing Klaus onto her couch as delicately as she could she ran straight for her first aid kit and came back. “Klaus.” She cupped his cheek and tried again, “Klaus.”

Most of his speech was indecipherable but she caught a “Caroline” in it. 

“Klaus, I need to call an ambulance.”

That seemed to wake him up. Eyes now wide open, voice gritted and words cut off, he responded, “No ambulance.”

“Klaus, you were shot. Or stabbed. Or—whatever! I can’t find the bleeding with you slumped like that. Sit up and help me take your shirt off.”

Wincing in pain, he assisted Caroline in removing his shirt. “I must say sweetheart, this isn’t exactly how I imagined stripping in front of you for the first time.” The commentary was half-hearted at best.

Going along with his attempt to lighten the mood, “Well, it must not be as bad as I thought if you’re cracking jokes about sleeping with me.” It fell flat because of the worry laced in her tone. Caroline threw his henley aside, for once uncaring that it could leave a stain. Bolting up she grabbed a clean rag from a closet, ran it under water, and came back to wipe up the blood so she could see how bad Klaus was. 

Caroline sighed as she wiped blood from his abdomen to find a small bullet wound on his left side. If he got some more professional help after tonight he should be fine. She thinks. If she looked close enough she could see part of the bullet lodged not too far into his skin.

“I take it that sigh is a good sign, love?” His voice had lost the authority behind and almost sounded anxious. 

“Um, well. I don’t know.” Caroline bunched her eyebrows thinking on the memory of her first aid training. Most of which just told her to put pressure on the wound until the ambulance arrived, but  _ apparently  _ that wasn’t an option. “The wound seems somewhat shallow or superficial, maybe. I can still see part of the bullet. And it’s bleeding pretty heavily, but,” she pressed clean cloth from the kit against the wound, “it should clot soon enough since it’s not that big. But it’s still a  _ bullet,  _ Klaus. I’m not a doctor. Or a nurse. You need to see someone who can actually help you. I can only do so much.”

Klaus nodded to let her know he heard her. Caroline worked in silence, hating every time Klaus flinched from her touch. She cleaned and dressed the wound, leaving the bullet for a doctor to handle. The bandages covered a large portion of his right side, she moved off her knees and sat next to him on the couch.

She was caught off guard when Klaus reached for the hand closest to his, intertwined their fingers and leaned back against the couch, curling in closer to her side. However, what threw her the most was how quick he was to fall asleep. A paranoid megalomaniac felt relaxed enough around her to fall asleep in her apartment. Not to mention he trusted her enough to come to her when he was injured. 

Her hand reached out of its own volition and ran through his unruly curls before extracting herself from his hand and moving off the couch. She sleepily moved about the room, cleaning up the mess; in her haste she had dumped the entire first aid kit looking for the right supplies. Snatching the bloody henley off of the floor she was thankful to note it had not gotten blood on her nice white rug.

On automatic she grabbed two plastic bags from a grocery store, and set the shirt inside one. She placed the bag with the shirt into the other one, tying the top off. She left it sitting on an end table by the couch for Klaus to take whenever he left. If he threw it out she knew she would have to send it to a lab to take his DNA and be put into the system. But Klaus was smart. He’d probably burn the shirt as soon as he could.

* * *

Klaus woke up disoriented, straightening when he couldn’t immediately recognize his surroundings. Jumping up with a wince, he took quick note of what was around him. It wasn’t until the smell of Caroline hit him he relaxed in the slightest. Another look around with that information confirmed his suspicions. 

A pain from his left side brought back the rough memories of the night before. He remembered being shot on the side, dodging well-enough so it didn’t hit something vital. Ignoring the pain and the nagging feeling in his head, he looked down to see himself shirtless, socks and shoes off. He spotted a plastic bag with what he assumed had his bloody shirt in it, a pillow he’d been lying on a moment ago, and a blanket fallen onto the floor where it must have been covering him before. An involuntary smile ticked up the sides of his lips. Caroline had taken care of him. 

Wandering around he picked up stray knick-knacks, picture frames, and books to inspect them. They all seemed very Caroline to him. A small snow globe of her hometown, an orchid that was well taken care of, and a few romance novels. When he picked up the framed photo of her when she was younger, a group of fellow teenagers, all laughing, holding what he assumed was alcohol, when he heard her shuffle in through the front door. 

Noticing bags of groceries in her hand he spoke, “Need a hand, love?”

Caroline looked very pointedly at his bandaged stomach before retorting with a tight smile, “Not from you I don’t.”

“Now, now, Caroline. Surely you don‘t think my being shot will impede my ability to do something as simple as carry in groceries, do you?” His demeanor was a drastic shift from the previous night, now playful and light in their banter.

“Well, if it’s as simple as you make it out to be, then surely I wouldn’t need help?”

Klaus chuckled at the raise of her brows. “I suppose not.” 

He watched as Caroline set the bags on the counter and then walked over to perch herself on her small round kitchen table with chairs for two. He approached her when her face slipped into something more serious. 

“Are you gonna see a doctor? Because you need to. Like, yesterday.”

With a huff, and a roll of his eyes Klaus answered. “Yes, I’ll see a doctor, love. They’ll be seeing me as soon as possible.” 

“And what are you doing? Go sit down. You were shot!”

Dryly, “Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

She glowered until Klaus took a seat on one of the two chairs nearby. “Happy?”

Caroline kind of snapped. “No, I’m not happy! You were shot, Klaus! What the actual fuck?”

“I don’t see why you’re so surprised. You know what I do.”

His blasé manner only served to stress her out more. “That’s different from seeing it!”

A shrug.

“Klaus.”

“What do you want me to do, love? I can’t claim I was particularly pleased with being shot myself, but what can I do about it now? I’ll deal with the assailant soon enough. They’ll be lucky if I decide to give them a bullet.”

“And who was the assailant?”

“You don’t need to know that.”

“The hell I don’t!”

“Pray tell, why should I bother telling you anything. All you’ve done recently is ignore me.”

“You should tell me because I’m the one who cleaned up the mess. I patched you up last night. I gave you somewhere safe to stay. I’m sure whoever wanted you dead knows where you live. It’s not exactly a subtle house, it’s gigantic. You would’ve been shot before you opened the front gate. I even went and washed away the blood in the lobby and took care of the pool of your blood outside the complex so no one called the cops or an ambulance. And yeah I’ve been ignoring you. So, what? I’m pissed off. You can handle the silent treatment. And maybe I wouldn’t be so silent if you would just tell me what the hell was so important that you bailed on me,  _ to murder someone _ !”

In a petulant voice, like a chided child, “It wasn’t that important.”

“So which is it, Klaus? It was important enough to leave me alone, or I wasn’t important enough for you to stay?” The anger coating her words was only half-faked.

“Caroline.” 

Her words were shrill,  _ “What?!  _ What, Klaus?”

“It’s on a need-to-know basis. I can’t tell you.”

“The hell you can’t! Just tell me! Am I that untrustworthy to you? I thought you cared for me more than that, Klaus! But I guess I was wrong to believe your ‘full of light’ bullshit.” She knew her words were manipulative. They were meant to be. 

Klaus rose up in anger, until Caroline’s angry glare at his wrapped stomach made him sit back down. “Of course I trust you!”

Caroline snarked, “Doesn’t seem that way from where I’m sitting.”

“I don’t want you involved in my business.” His jaw was clenched, hoping she would come to see reason.

“Your business is part of you, Klaus. If you didn’t want me involved you shouldn’t have come here for help. I can’t be with part of you. I would want all of you. You can’t give me that if you hide half your life.”

Klaus opened and closed his mouth at a loss for words. She had a point. His business was a big part of his life. Caroline didn’t half-ass a relationship. While he still searched for the words to fix this Caroline spoke again, this time with a sad concern. “You should call a doctor here before you leave. You shouldn’t be walking around with a bullet in you. I assume you have some sort of doctor for situations like this?” 

He numbly nodded.

“Okay, good. Call them and stay until they’ve checked you out and made sure you’re good to walk.” With a soft smile, “I’m gonna go take a nap, I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. Help yourself to some food. I don’t have a lot but I went to the store so you could have some options.”

His brows creased. “You bought me food?”

The soft smile was dimmed by the sadness reflected in her eyes. “Yeah. I also bought some more first aid stuff in case you needed it. There’s pain relievers in one of the bags.”

When Caroline turned to head back to her bed panic took over and he called out, “Caroline?”

It was her turn to be confused. “Yeah?”

“Sophie Deveraux.”

“Um. Should that name sound—?”

His head cleared. Klaus looked straight at her, eyes and words honest. “She shot me.” Caroline made an ‘o’ face in realization of what he was saying. “I was caught off guard. I’m not certain why she shot me, but revenge for her sister seems like a safe assumption. 

Caroline closed her eyes and sighed before rushing over to Klaus’s side. In a whisper, “Thank you.” She placed a soft kiss to his cheek, matched with a small smile which he returned. 

The awe in his voice was evident at her display of affection. He raised a hand to cup her cheek and look in her eyes. “You are important to me, love. I promise.” Worry replaced his awe. “I can’t tell you why I killed Jane-Anne yet,” he continued, looking down and releasing Caroline’s face. “It’s just—it’s just that—”

Caroline grabbed his face and made him look up at her, smile brighter than before, “I understand. Thank you for telling me.” She thanked him again with a quick peck on the lips. 

Sighing his relief, he pulled her down to perch on his lap. Caroline made a startled noise before Klaus cut her off with his mouth on hers. He squeezed her waist where his hands rested, wanting to deepen the kiss. Caroline, however, heard Klaus’s small grunt of pain and shot off him with an apology.

Checking his stomach, she sighed in relief. Her lapse in self-restraint did not appear to have reopened the wound. “Okay, seriously, you need a doctor.”

An arrogant smirk took over his face. “I don’t know about that, love. Your lips seem to be helping me just fine. Maybe you could kiss it better? I’m sure it would help.”

A dead stare. “Haha, Klaus. You’re just sooo funny.” She unwillingly cracked a smile, which only widened Klaus’s smirk. Prick. “I’m taking my nap now. So call your doctor. You can stay here for them to check you out, or you can let me go with you to your place so I can make sure you don’t rip yourself open and your family comes barging in to kill me for letting their asshole of a brother die.” A bright smile took over her as she took in Klaus’s exasperated but fond expression. “Sound good?”

His smirk had lessened, though it still lingered. “Yes, Caroline. Anything else you’d like to order me to do?”

She pretended to consider it, with her index finger tapping her chin while she held a thoughtful face. She jolted when she felt him pinch her side again. “Klaus!”

“Hmm, yes, dear?”

“If you weren’t injured I’d hurt you.” Impulsively she ran her fingers through his hair.

“I’m sure you would, sweetheart.” His eyes said otherwise. Klaus leaned further into her hand when it drifted to the side of his head.

“Hey! I could do it if I wanted to! I’m just being considerate because it must be such a pain to listen to yourself all day. And being shot. I can’t imagine dealing with you, day in, and day ou–”

Klaus cut her off with another pinch and a smile. “I can’t be that bad, sweetheart. I mean, I’m still here.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Not for long if you pinch me again.” At his chuckle she repressed a smile and walked off to lay down in her bed. 

He didn’t seem that bad. Not to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter has taken years off of my life span. it was so hard to write. i rewrote it so many times.   
> I'd love to read anyones thoughts on this chapter and what they think might happen next! And sorry it took me so long to update, I was trying but this chapter was not my friend.

**Author's Note:**

> So I don't actually know anything about the FBI or crime families so I'm kinda just winging it. the extent of my knowledge is from like two cop shows I've watched and if i skim an article so I'm not completely inaccurate with what I write. I also have no idea how long I'll be making this, at the very least a few chapters. I hope you like it!


End file.
